A beautiful and very successful actress played the lead role in a new musical show. Her home was in the countryside, but she did not want to go back there every night, so she bought an expensive house in the centre of the city, she got some beautiful furniture(家具) and had a man to paint the rooms in new colours.

    It was very difficult to get tickets for her show, because everybody wanted to see it. So she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter's bill (帐单). At the bottom of it were these words: “Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance : 3 pounds,” with this note: “ After 5 p.m. I get 15 shillings (先令) an hour instead of 10 shillings.”

    I was feeling a little blue because my mother had lost her job.

    One day, while I was1on the street, I heard the piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people. I walked more slowly to2where it was coming from. Then I saw a young lady sitting at a piano.

    She was singing songs about love,3 yourself and keeping on trying. The way she was singing made me a little comfortable. I stood there 4, watching her playing on such a crowded New York square. I thought that she must be 5enough to perform in front of so many people. She noticed me. I walked over and told her how good her6sounded. "Thank you," she said.

    "I have been going through a hard time recently, 7 you've made me hopeful again." I said to her.

    "I'm glad that I could help," she replied. "Why are you so 8?"

    "Well, my mum has lost her job, and I'm not sure what to do…"

    "Did you noticed the9you were walking? Your head was down," she said. "Don't be upset, because 10 comes in different ways and if your head is down, you might not see it. You should11more…lift your head up."

    I looked12her, amazed at how she was encouraging(鼓励) me. "13are you playing the piano here?" I asked her with a smile. She14that she saw a lot of unhappy people in the world and she tried to cheer15 up by playing music.

    I smiled a little wilder, realizing that no difficulties could stop me from going on.

Do you have a friend with an interesting background? Today, I'd like to tell you about a friend of m{#blank#}1{#/blank#} with it. I'll tell you a bit about her, such as where she's from and why we're good friends.

You know, I didn't use to do s{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. However, a couple of years ago, I j{#blank#}3{#/blank#} a fitness club. There, I met Linda. After the exercise, we had coffee together and b{#blank#}4{#/blank#} good friends soon. I think we have a lot in c{#blank#}5{#/blank#} —we both like to keep fit and love trying different food. And we love the ocean; in summer, we like to play at the b{#blank#}6{#/blank#} and go swimming there. Linda was b{#blank#}7{#/blank#} in London, but has lived in China for ten years. So she can s{#blank#}8{#/blank#} both Chinese and English. That's something different about us. Another d{#blank#}9{#/blank#} is her background—Linda has experience and knowledge of two cultures.

So, now you know a bit about my friend Linda. Although we might not always live in the same city in the f{#blank#}10{#/blank#}, I think we'll stay friends forever.

My friend Alice visited me last week. She arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday morning. She came from Australia. I showed her around. 

We visited the Clock Tower first. The Clock Tower was very tall. We took some photos there. Then we went to Hong Kong Science Museum. After that, we saw a good movie. 

The next day, we visited the Ladies' Market （女人街）. There were a lot of clothes shops. The clothes were cheap and beautiful. Alice bought some clothes for her parents and friends. Then we went to the Dried Seafood Street. We bought some seafood. We also had seafood in a restaurant. Both of us enjoyed the food. Then we went to a concert （音乐会） in the evening. The music was fantastic （极好的）！

On the third day, the weather was very hot, so we decided to visit Hong Kong Wetland Park. We saw many kinds of plants and animals in it. They were very interesting. Alice went back to Australia on Friday evening. She enjoyed the trip. She invited （邀请） me to visit Australia next summer. 

Dear Eric,

Surprise! I believe you didn't expect a note from your mom in your lunchbox! How is your school day so far? I hope it is going well. You always do your best. I am proud of you!

Because I had to leave so early this morning,I wrote this note last night and put it into your lunchbox to wish you well on your speech today. With all of your amazing research, writing, and practice, you are going to do great!

I know that you get a little nervous talking in front of large groups - - - everybody does. But just remember what you practiced and you just might forget about being nervous.

Here are a few things to remember when you are giving a speech:

1. Make eye contact(眼神交流) with your classmates.

2. Speak clearly and slowly.

3. Look at your note-cards only when you have to.

4.▲. Once you are in front of the class, pretend(假装) that you are a famous expert on your topic and everyone is listening carefully to your EVERY word. (I do that sometimes!) Then, you will certainly enjoy the whole speech!

Well, that's all for now. I am thinking of you today and I know you will do great. Do your best and be brave like George Washington. He was an excellent choice for your speech.

Good luck Eric!

Maybe we can go out for ice-cream after school.

Love,

Mom